A former FBI contractor from Arlington, Virginia has been indicted for reportedly engaging in the grooming of dozens of children and soliciting child pornography.
Brett William Janes, who joined the FBI in May and had previously worked for an intelligence agency, has allegedly been interacting with approximately twelve minors over Discord and Snapchat.
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According to the Department of Justice, Janes groomed his victims by flashing his badge and “telling them he worked for a U.S. intelligence agency before repeatedly threatening suicide if the minors did not continue to communicate with him.”
In one instance, the former FBI contractor successfully enticed a young boy he had met via the video game “Valorant” to “strip and masturbate over a live video Discord call,” both by paying him hundreds of dollars over CashApp and again threatening to kill himself, said the DOJ.
According to the Department of Justice, James Janes allegedly used flattery and repeated begging to convince a 12-year-old boy to create and send him child pornography through Discord.
Moreover, court documents reveal that Janes purchased hundreds of videos and images of child sex abuse material over Telegram and attempted to meet up with a minor, reportedly learning only after the fact that the individual was 14 years old.
A special agent with the FBI Washington field office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, Paul Fisher, revealed in his affidavit that an investigation into Janes was initiated in February after a father reported to police in Galloway Township, New Jersey that he had discovered his son communicating with an adult on Discord.
Pertinent information regarding the case was provided by agents from Atlantic City, New Jersey on April 21st of this year.
The former FBI contractor made it easy for investigators to find him as he sent pictures of his badges used to access federal buildings to his victims along with his IP address, email address, and phone number which corresponded to the offensive Discord account.
On Wednesday, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted an individual on four counts related to child exploitation.
The charges include sexual exploitation of children, production of child pornography, attempting coercion and enticement, and receipt of child pornography.
If convicted, this person could face life in prison or a minimum sentence of 15 years behind bars.
The FBI has asked that anyone who believes they may have been victimized by this individual contact them immediately at 202-278-2000.
Court documents indicated his username on Discord was “revision#3409.”
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